The present invention relates to a movable guide bar for use transversely of a table top, such being especially useful as a rip guide for a table saw. It is presently known to use a rip guide in connection with a table saw so that accurate cuts of lumber, sheets of plywood and the like may be made. These rip guides generally comprise a transverse bar which is parallel to the plane of the saw blade, which bar may be moved while remaining parallel to the plane of the saw blade from one position to another and then locked into position the desired distance from the saw blade. An article to be ripped may then be passed across the table top while engaged with the rip guide such that a cut will be made in the article which is parallel to the rip guide.
Many table saws come from the manufacturer with a built-in rip guide, the width of a rip using such a rip guide is however limited to the size of the saw table. It is also known to add an adjacent table which is the same height as the saw table, and to add a rip guide to the adjacent table in order to accommodate large articles to be cut. However, at the present time no one has provided a movable rip guide which is economical of manufacture yet which can readily be moved from one position to another and tightly clamped into position against movement by an article engaged therewith which is being moved across the table. For example a bar provided with thumb screws or C-clamps on each end thereof can be moved from one position to another and clamped in the desired position; however, it has been found that such is relatively cumbersome as it requires the operator to go from one side of the table to another in order to loosen or tighten the screws or clamps which are located at each end of the bar. Further, it has been found that thumb screws and C-clamps do not, at least when hand tightened, really provide adequate holding power against a sideways directed force as encountered when an article being ripped is pushed against a rip guide.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a new and useful movable guide bar which may readily be moved from one position to another on a table top and easily clamped into position and easily unclamped for moving to a new position. It is a particular object of the present invention to provide a movable guide bar which is useful as a rip guide for table saws. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a movable guide bar for table tops which may be clamped and unclamped without the necessity of the operator's moving from one end of the guide bar to the other.